Outdoor Walking Access Report to the Minister for Rural Affairs

17 Biosecurity

17.1 Background

Some landholders are concerned that allowing greater public access without their consent would create biosecurity risks, with the possible increased risk of the spread of organisms that are already here or that could arrive at some point in the future, for example:

  • diseases of people and animals, such as foot rot, sheep measles, foot-and-mouth disease (not present in New Zealand), giardia and cryptosporidium;
  • weeds, such as barley-grass, burdock and ragwort;
  • plant diseases, such as pitch pine canker (not present in New Zealand);
  • plant pests, such as gum leaf skeletoniser and scale insects;
  • invasive organisms, such as didymo.

The Panel’s experience is that, in the majority of situations, walking access is unlikely to cause additional biosecurity risks, because:

  • many diseases and pests cannot be spread merely by a person walking over land (for example, bovine tuberculosis);
  • most diseases and pests are spread by natural distribution (that is, birds, wild animals, insect vectors, wind or water) and the additional threat from walkers is minimal (for example, spread of ragwort in a person’s socks);
  • many diseases and pests are already prevalent in New Zealand (for example, giardia);
  • most areas are already used by people to a greater or lesser extent, including the landholder, employees, contractors and others on the land with the landholder’s permission.

There are, however, situations where a disease or pest is not prevalent in New Zealand and it can be spread by people walking or fishing, or by accompanying dogs. Specific examples are sheep measles, phylloxera (a disease of grape vines) and didymo (a freshwater diatom, a type of algae).

The Panel understands that some landholders appear to relate the issue of consent to the degree of risk, that is, they can control the risks so long as they can restrict access on a case-by-case basis. The Panel believes this is a matter that can be covered in access negotiations.

The Panel notes that promoting or removing barriers to existing access rights does not appear to pose a significant change to the existing level of biosecurity risk.

17.2 Managing biosecurity risks

The Panel notes that there are extensive powers under the Biosecurity Act 1993 to investigate, regulate and control biosecurity risks. Nevertheless, negotiations for access may include provision for temporary closure of access on biosecurity grounds.

The Panel believes that a code of responsible conduct could play an important role in regulating behaviour and thus minimising biosecurity risks. For example, the code could include advice about proper disposal of toilet waste (this advice may help manage the spread of beef measles). The Panel suggests that overseas visitors receive information when they arrive in New Zealand about appropriate behaviour in rural areas to minimise biosecurity risks.

The Panel concludes that:

  • walking access poses limited additional biosecurity risks;
  • walking access clearly poses fewer biosecurity issues than access with vehicles, horses and dogs;
  • biosecurity concerns could be covered in access negotiations;
  • serious biosecurity risks can be managed under the Biosecurity Act 1993.

Recommendation on biosecurity

  1. The Panel recommends that measures to minimise biosecurity risks be included in the proposed code of responsible conduct, particularly the appropriate disposal of human waste.